BALTIMORE _ A federal judge has rejected arguments made by an alleged Islamic State supporter who claimed that the charges he faces violate his free speech rights.
Mohamed Elshinawy sought to have the case against him thrown out, arguing that he hadn't committed a crime and that any admiration he expressed for the terror group was protected by the First Amendment.
Judge Ellen L. Hollander roundly rejected that position.
"Defendant's assertion that the Indictment violates his rights under the First Amendment distorts the allegations and misapprehends the statute," Hollander wrote in an opinion issued this month.
Elshinawy, who lived in Edgewood, is accused of receiving money from Islamic State supporters overseas that he understood was to carry out an attack. He engaged in lengthy online chats with a childhood friend about his support for the group, authorities say, and asked the friend to pass along a formal pledge of allegiance.
The FBI interviewed Elshinawy about the money transfers in the summer of 2015, and authorities say he concocted a lie about trying to scam terrorists out of money. He was arrested in December 2015.
Elshinawy is among several defendants facing terrorism charges to have raised free speech claims as federal authorities have moved to act more quickly against suspects in order to head off attacks. The arguments have not been successful.
Hollander wrote that many of Elshinawy's arguments were challenges to specific pieces of evidence against him. They could be raised again if his case goes to trial.
.png?w=600)
